


Practice Makes Perfect

by moonbands



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: AU, Cute, M/M, Muke - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-02 23:05:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2829284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonbands/pseuds/moonbands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke is having problems with his Xbox, and calls a gaming agency for help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Practice Makes Perfect

Luke threw his remote across the room as his Xbox shut off in the middle of the game for the third time that day. He only wanted to play FIFA because his roommates weren't home to entertain him-off with their families for Christmas, but the stupid electronic gaming system wouldn't quit being stupid.

Sighing, he pulled out his phone and looked up a gaming agency number for someone he could talk to. He dialed the number and held his phone up to his ear.

"Hello, this is Michael Clifford. You're speaking to-fuck I messed it up. Shit-wait! Don't tell anyone I cussed. Oh, God. This is my first time doing this." Luke couldn't help but hold back his snickers at the boy on the other line. "How may I help you?" the boy asked on the other line quietly.

"Hi, Michael. I've been trying to play FIFA on the Xbox all day, but it keeps turning off in the middle of a play. How do I make it stay on?" Luke messed with a loose string on his sweater, wrapping it around his fingers as he spoke.

There was a silence from the other boy for a while before he cleared his throat. "Have you tried unplugging it and plugging it back in?" Luke wasn't sure how effective that was going to be, but he was willing to try anyway.

Holding his phone to his ear with his shoulder, his hands became busy trying to push away random chords and plugs from behind the TV. Finding it difficult to see in the dim room, he sat back on his knees and held his phone in his hand again. "I'm having trouble finding the plug, but I'll call you back if I need any more help. Thanks, Michael."

Luke could hear a faint, "Any time." He dropped his phone to the floor after putting on his flashlight and went back to working his fingers through the chords. He found two chords that he was pretty sure didn't connect to the TV and pulled them out of the Xbox. He waited a few seconds, just for good measure, and plugged them back in. He pressed off of his knees and took a step back, turning the Xbox back on. To his utter disappointment, the system didn't even flicker on.

Crawling back on his hands and knees, he moved back behind the TV and frustratingly unplugged the Xbox, accidentally unplugging two other chords. "Shit," he mumbled to himself. He didn't know which chords plugged into which device, so he threw his hands up in exasperation. 

Luke turned off his flashlight and redialed the agency number. He wasn't expecting someone else to pick up, but he wasn't phased. "May I speak to Michael Clifford?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. I will connect you to him now." Luke listened carefully for the familiar voice.

"Hello, this is Michael Clifford. How may I help you?" Luke would be lying if he said he didn't smile at the voice. 

"I see you got the greeting system down," he teased, running his fingers through his blonde hair. His stomach fluttered when he heard a laugh from the other line. 

"Is this the guy with the Xbox problems?" Michael asks, making Luke smile.

"At your service," Luke answers, wondering how the guy remembered him. 

"Actually, I'm at your service," Michael corrected him. After a few giggles from each side, Michael's back to business. "What can I help with?"

Luke found himself blushing as he explained his predicament, "Well, after I hung up, I unplugged the Xbox like you told me. I guess I did something wrong because it wouldn't turn on afterwards. I got frustrated and accidentally unplugged some other chords, and now I don't know where anything goes."

"That's okay," Michael reassures him, and Luke kind of wonders what he looks like. He sounds cute. "I can help you plug everything back in to where it's supposed to go." 

Luke set his phone down on the floor, turning on the flashlight again as well as the speaker. "What do I do first?" He stares at the unplugged chords, thinking how he could tell Michael what they look like. 

"Do you know what the chord to the Xbox looks like?" Michael asks, and Luke nods before remembering he can't see him. 

"Wait there's only one Xbox chord?" Luke can already tell this is going to be a disaster. 

With the help of Michael, he describes the chords and plugs them into the right spots. It's almost a half hour later when they finish because Luke wasn't good at electronics, and Michael couldn't hear Luke very well. Luke climbed out from behind the TV and wiped the dust from his hands on his skinny jeans. 

"Does it work?" he heard Michael from his phone on the floor as he tried turning on the Xbox. He fist pumped the air when the screen turned on and picked up his phone. 

"It does work. Thanks, Michael!" Luke picks up his controller from where he had thrown it almost an hour ago. He'd admit to wanting to talk to Michael more-he was good company.

"No problem, Mr. . ." he trailed off, and Luke realized he had never given his name.

"Luke Hemmings," he told him. He sat down on the couch and listened to his phone.

"No problem, Mr. Luke Hemmings. Contact us if you experience any more problems." Luke almost talked over him when he heard, "Or just me."

He smiled to himself. "I will," he promised. The two hung up and Luke focused his attention on the TV screen, starting up a game of FIFA. 

He played for a while until the last play. His player ran down the field with the ball, and just as he kicked, the Xbox shut off. Luke screamed at the TV and chucked his controller to the floor. "Damn you stupid game."

Luke felt sheepish calling the company again, asking for Michael again. "Hello, this is Michael Clifford. How may I help you?"

"Hi, Michael. It's Luke. Do you have any other suggestions?" He counted to ten in his head, trying to calm himself and picking up the controller to set on the coffee table. 

"Did it shut off again?" Michael asked. 

Luke sighed and told him, "Yes, this stupid piece of shit turned off for the fourth time." 

"Where do you live?" Michael asked, which caught Luke off guard. They had only just met that day, and they haven't even seen- "Maybe you live on my way home." 

Oh, Luke thought. Of course he wasn't asking him for that. Luke gave Michael his address, and Michael gasped. "It is on the way!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Luke suddenly got nervous at the thought of a stranger entering his house. Not just any stranger, someone he was pretty sure was his age and possibly even attractive, if his voice was anything to go by. Then again, he could just have one of those radio voices that sound cute but are really nothing like what the person looks like.

"Is it alright if I stop by and look at your Xbox? I'm not sure how well I'd work if you just described it to me," Michael explained. Luke agreed, and Michael told him he'd be in the lobby within half an hour.

Luke waited nervously on the couch, waiting for the doorman to ring up Michael. When he heard a knock on his door, he bounded over, looking in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable. He ran his fingers through his hair and opened the door. 

What greeted him shouldn't have shocked him, but it did. Michael was in a blue polo shirt and tan khakis. His hair was a bright red, there were tattoos on his arms, and a piercing through one of his eyebrows. When Michael smiled, Luke died a little inside. "Hi, I'm Michael. You must be Luke."

Luke held out his hand, which Michael grasped firmly within his small one. "Yep, that's me. Come in." Michael walked inside, only a few inches shorter than Luke, and already picked out the Xbox as Luke shut the door behind him. He made his way over to it, examining it without touching.

Luke sat down on his couch, watching the redhead try different things on the gaming device. He could hear Michael mumbling to himself, and Luke noticed he was very interested in his work. Finally, after taking out the disc for the game and looking at it, he wiped it against his shirt and put it back in the Xbox.

He turned around and picked up the controller, handing another one to Luke. "May I?" Michael smiled, and Luke nodded enthusiastically. 

Michael turned out to be incredibly good at FIFA, and Luke was so into the game that he hadn't realized the Xbox didn't shut off until Michael won. He turned to him, giving a curious look. "How did you do that?"

"Well, you can't really trust the game players so you basically have to do everything yours-"

"No, I mean how did you fix the Xbox?"

They looked at each other and Michael nodded. "You just had a little dirt on the disc, so I wiped it off." 

Luke felt himself blushing and turning away. He was pretty sure his cheeks matched Michael's hair. "Oh. Sorry for wasting your time."

"It's not your fault," Michael said softly. "I could've suggested you look at the disc. I didn't think of that either."

Before he knew what was happening, Michael had accidentally pressed the play button, and they were emerged into another game. In a mutual agreement, they spent a while playing against each other in a little friendly competition. Luke looked at the clock around nine at night and his gaze turned over to Michael.

"I think I should be heading out. It was nice meeting you. You're kind of shit at FIFA, but you're cute, so it's all good." Michael was very straight forward, and Luke was taken aback at how fond he had grown of this complete stranger. 

"You should come over sometime this week, and you can make me better." Luke grinned at the shorter boy when they both stood up. "Practice makes perfect." 

Michael turned back around when they got to the door, holding out his hand. Luke took it, and felt something being pushed into his palm. "Call me on my cell, not for any other problems you experience besides wanting company."

They gave each other smiles once more, and Luke shut the door behind Michael. It was a good day.


End file.
